A man caught with more than 70,000 images of child abuse told police "I don't think they're that bad".

Ross Masson downloaded tens of thousands of indecent pictures of children over five years.

The 30-year-old told officers "I don't think they're that bad. It's just girls naked", when he was confronted by police officers who raided his house.

Masson, of Fountain Grange, Aberdeen, admitted possessing indecent images at his home between May 2005 and October 2010, when he appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

His home was first raided in March 2008 after the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre tipped off Grampian Police about how he was using the internet, but he was released pending the results of an examination of his computer equipment.

Police were tipped off by the CEOPC again in September 2010, about someone using an internet forum known to be connected to images of child abuse. Masson's home was raided for a second time and his computer and DVDs were seized.

Defence advocate Mark Strachan told the court that Masson suffered from a number of medical problems, had a pace-maker fitted and was being monitored for possible tuberculosis.

He was released on bail before he returns to court for sentence next month.